Tag Archives: lifestyle

Evon Tay, a graphic designer who has just graduated from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) School of Art, Design and Media started a DIY Lifestyle Challenge as her final year project. But even after graduation, Evon has not put the project to rest. Find out why.

Evon Tay

About DIY Lifestyle Challenge

DIY Lifestyle Challenge is a project looking at a series of alternative and sustainable lifestyle choices that urban dwellers can do on a daily basis.

Evon hopes to encourage people to be mindful and take responsibility about the way we live, and to cultivate a culture of self-reliance and creativity, so that our city can become greener, more vibrant and awesome.

She shared that she observed how Singaporeans live in a capitalistic and consumption-driven city, where people slog long hours to earn money, but eventually splurge them away by buying stuffs (that they might not necessarily need) in the name of “retail therapy”. To Evon, this is a vicious cycle which is both wasteful and depressing. Hence, she wanted to introduce an alternative way of living.

She started this project about a year ago and she hopes to be able to continue doing it for as long as she can, and that more Singaporeans can join in the fun and be part of a growing DIY community in Singapore.

Evon shared that she started making things purely because she did not have much money to buy things. She shared that whenever her best friends had their birthdays, she would jokingly make a paper mache version of whatever expensive items on their wishlist. The habit had since grown on her and she realised she enjoyed doing it as there is a satisfaction of seeing simple everyday materials being transformed into something cool/weird/funny.

Her view on the Maker scene in Singapore

Evon felt that there is a recent revival of appreciation for artisanal handcrafted work in general but she was not sure if that translates to an increase in the trend to make things. She felt that Singaporeans are practical people who would not like to waste time on things which they deemed to be not “productive” or useful. Making things from scratch is unfortunately one of them. She felt that in Singapore, the focus in life had always been on academic success, so making things or other creative activity would only be counted as a hobby. She felt this should be relooked at.

Her advice

To budding Makers, her word of advice is to keep learning and experimenting with new techniques and materials, and if the by-products turn out wrong, they could always be given away in the next Secret Santa gift exchange. Hohoho…

[Evon invites contributions and collaborations from anyone who wants their stuffs to be seen in the next issue of her zine, Adventures in DIY #2. If you are interested, email to hello@DIY-lifestyle.org. Do not forget to catch Evon at her Singapore Mini Maker Faire 2012 booth on 4 & 5 August and her presentation on 5 August. She would be showcasing her zines, hand-printed linocut stickers, hand-sewn and silkscreened bags and more!]